Ireland captain Paul O'Connell has been ruled out of the remainder of the Six Nations after suffering a knee injury in Sunday's 17-17 draw with France.
Tests have indicated that the lock twisted his knee in the match and will be out for up to six weeks.
"Paul O'Connell underwent a scan on his left knee after twisting it during the game," read an IRFU statement.
"The scan has shown that he has picked up an injury to his medial collateral ligament."
"The injury will also rule him out of the next two games with an expected three-six week recovery period."
The news comes after scrum-half Paul Murray was also ruled out of Ireland's last two matches with a similar injury.
